Sex adviser sacked in gay row

A counsellor claims he was sacked after voicing concerns that his Christian beliefs might prevent him giving sex therapy to gay couples.

Solicitor Gary McFarlane, from Hanham, is taking the Bristol branch of counselling service Relate to an employment tribunal on December 1.

The 47-year-old will claim unfair dismissal on grounds of religious discrimination, saying that supervisors refused to accommodate his religious beliefs.

The father-of-two, who has lived in Bristol for 40 years, told the Evening Post: "I don't have an axe to grind but what they did is wrong.

"At the time it was happening people were being very, very sensitive about Muslim issues. It would have been very different if that was my religion.

"It feels like Christians are being bashed around. As a sector we do have some rights and I'm taking this issue up to help others in my situation who might have left it.

"Relate are supposed to be at the forefront of tackling issues like this."

After 20 years in the legal profession, Mr McFarlane decided to make a career shift to counselling and joined Relate in 2003. He was a partner of a law firm in Bristol and sits on a committee advising the Law Society.

Mr McFarlane is a former elder of the Bristol Elim Church and regularly attends Pentecostal and Church of England services. He is also a part-time tutor to Trinity Theological College, in Stoke Bishop, whose Church of England leader is Canon George Kovoor, Chaplain to the Queen.

In his early years as a counsellor he says he helped two lesbian couples resolve conflicts and worked through his qualms about homosexuality.

He said: "I even received a letter from one couple thanking me."

But he says a rift occurred between Mr McFarlane and his supervisors after he began to train as a psychosexual therapist but felt he might find it difficult to treat the intimate problems of same sex partners.

Mr McFarlane said: "I approached my supervisor who said Relate may be open to accusations of discrimination if I took issue with a same sex couple.

"I felt that sex therapy is more directive than counselling – more like a doctor's role in asking each couple multiple questions and setting out a treatment plan.

In January this year Mr McFarlane was suspended. He says he decided to comply with Relate's policies and was reinstated after three weeks but that some of his colleagues launched a petition calling for him to be dismissed.

Mr McFarlane said: "I don't go about throwing the Bible around. I allow my life to speak for me. By going to the tribunal I want to stand up for the fair treatment of Christians.

A Relate spokeswoman said the group could not comment until the employment tribunal has taken place.

The controversy follows a case earlier this year in which Christian registrar Lillian Ladele won an employment tribunal against Islington Council in London over her refusal to conduct civil partnership ceremonies for gay couples.